The dog puns have been running wild in the local media and on various social platforms with the announcement of a very exciting project, which will be coming to Swindon next summer.

We were delighted to host the launch of the Big Dog Art Trail at STEAM on Tuesday and it promises to be an initiative the whole town can get involved with.

More than 30 super-sized balloon dog art sculptures will be spread out across various landmarks and popular locations between 15 July and 3 September next year to help showcase Swindon’s superb arts and culture creativity, while also raising money for Julia’s House children’s hospice.

Those who attended the launch at STEAM saw the first painted Swindog, which was brilliantly decorated by local artist Hannah Dosanjh. If Hannah’s work is anything to go by, we are going to see some amazing sculptures in a year’s time.

Community groups, schools and nurseries will also be invited to get their paint brushes out to create designs for mini Swindog puppies in the autumn, which will form part of the main family-friendly art trail.

As it is a walking trail, there are also obvious health and wellbeing benefits for encouraging people to get out into the fresh air to see what I am sure will be magnificent artistic creations.

But there are significant other benefits to hosting a trail such as this. While this will be the first ever balloon dog art trail in the UK, other places have used different art installations to showcase their towns or cities in recent times.

Last year, Cambridge hosted its Cows About Cambridge trail. It played a significant role in driving footfall and it is estimated that it generated £12.8m of direct economic impact to the city with more visitors spending their money in local shops. It also raised more than a quarter of a million pounds for the associated charity and was a great way of engaging local businesses.

It also helped to raise the profile of Cambridge significantly through huge media engagement and I am sure with the support of the Advertiser, other media partners and the Council, we can all play our part in boosting Swindon from now until the trail gets underway in 12 months’ time.

If you weren’t able to make the launch on Tuesday but would like to sponsor a Swindog or learn more about the trail itself, more information is available on the website: bigdogarttrail.co.uk

While we can all look forward to seeing the Swindogs next summer, we are just a couple of months away from another hugely exciting event.

Our library service is one of only 15 in the UK to take part in the national Storytrails project.

StoryTrails will be delivered through multiple partnerships including The Reading Agency, British Film Institute, broadcaster and film-maker, David Olusoga, Uplands Television, and leading immersive technology specialists including Niantic, makers of Pokémon Go.

Using local history archives and material from the BBC and British Film Institute plus personal stories, an immersive storytelling experience will be created using augmented and virtual reality at town centre various locations.

Our showcase event will be on August 27 and 28 August, and further details will be revealed over the coming weeks.